Mirya is a small village in Ratnagiri which was also our site to study. The occupation of

the people there include a wide variety of things, the village doesn’t have a major

economy as such but fishing used to be a prominent occupation in Mirya about a

decade ago.

The people of Mirya are very united. Festivals and many other important occasions,

weddings are all celebrated together there. One of the main reasons that keep the

village together is their belief in Mahapurush.

Mahapurush is considered to be an energy by some villagers that doesn’t have any

form but exists as a protector (rakshak). While some believe that mahapurush was the

first person to enter the village and established everything that mirya has to offer. The

villagers firmly believe that mahapurush will protect them from all misfortunes that they

might face. A major part of the village is covered by the beach, the villagers say that the

village has not yet been flooded because of mahapurush, their protector. Some villagers

claim to have seen Mahapurush wearing white clothes and holding a walking stick in his

hand. Everybody has different stories about him, some of which seem too vague to be

true.

The villagers have built a temple for mahapurush outside the village to make sure their

protector keeps a watch on them at all times. The entire village comes together once a

year to celebrate the presence of their protector, to celebrate its energy.

The temple has become their meeting place where they celebrate important occasions,

a place to hang out or even solve disputes. The temple has no idol (as the villagers said

mahapurush is an energy, not a form)

The water from the beach on the other side of the village has been rising pretty quickly in

the past few years. The villagers say that the reason for this happening is because the

sea is angry with the villagers. The rising water level also caused the fishing to stop for

some time. In ancient texts, it is often said that the sea holds immense power and it

keeps nothing to itself, whatever you throw at the sea, it throws it right back at you. It

is said that it's important to keep the sea god (Varuna) happy and satisfied. Many

fishermen worship the sea god before sailing. Building a shrine near the sea would

honor the sea god and mirya’s fishing culture too.

The sunlight at the beach seems harsher than in other places. A space that plays with the light on the beach and also gives you a sense of shade is what I have in mind for a shrine. Columns of all heights are put together in a way to structure your body to move in a very particular way. A range of portals that give you a sense of path and light.